Chapter 1

The Jiu Zhou Continent, vast and boundless.

Xuan Zhou is located in the western part of the Jiu Zhou Continent, bordering Di Zhou to the east and Huang Zhou to the west. The Great Xia Dynasty is a fourth-rank power in Xuan Zhou, and there are at least a hundred such powers in Xuan Zhou, yet its territory remains incredibly vast, stretching 70,000 miles north to south and 30,000 miles east to west!

Su Cheng has always been a prosperous land under the rule of the Great Xia Dynasty, known for its silk production and as a famous land of fish and rice. Shi County, a large county within Su Cheng, has a population of over 100,000, but its economy is not top-tier. It is neither poor nor rich.

Thirteen miles north of Su Cheng, there is a desolate mountain, nameless, where wild beasts roam and few people venture.

As the sun was about to set.

A young man's corpse suddenly opened its eyes, with the pupils reflecting the sun, moon, stars, and the myriad phenomena of the world, but they quickly returned to a state of calm and ordinariness.

"I have returned!"

The young man slowly sat up, his slender frame exuding an indescribable aura of authority, as if an emperor were present.

He waved his hand in front of him, as if sifting through the ages: "This is a million years later!"

The young man displayed a沧桑 smile that seemed to span ten thousand ancient years.

"Yan Qingcheng, you must have entered the immortal realm as you wished?"

He touched his chest, where another him had been pierced by a sword, leading to his ultimate downfall.

Who is he?

Or rather, who now controls this young body?

The Flame Emperor!

He, originally named Yan, was born at the end of the era of gods and demons. At that time, the ancient gods and demons ruled the Jiu Zhou Continent, and although the human race had awakened and learned from the gods and demons, forming the雏形 of martial arts, they were still far from being a match for the gods and demons. It was not until his emergence that he synthesized the strengths of all, innovated, and elevated them, ultimately becoming the first great emperor of the world, revered as the Flame Emperor.

He suppressed the gods and demons, pioneered martial arts, and gave everyone the opportunity and possibility to leap from a carp to a dragon, with boundless merit.

Due to his great achievements, even the heavens opened the immortal gate for this world, allowing anyone who could cross it to enter the immortal realm and achieve immortality!

However, he blocked the immortal gate, not giving anyone the chance to become an immortal, which ultimately led to his beloved Yan Qingcheng betraying and ambushing him, and together with eight other hundred-refined sages, they brought about the downfall of a great emperor.

"Others may not know, but you, Yan Qingcheng, should be clear. Did I block the immortal gate for selfish reasons, to prevent others from becoming immortals?"

The young man sneered: "The immortal gate appears once every ten thousand years, allowing only one person to pass each time. What I aimed to do was to make the immortal gate permanent, so that anyone with the ability could pass through it at any time, allowing everyone to become an immortal and seek immortality!"

"I know you feared that I would ultimately fail, leaving you to die of old age in this world."

"Ha ha, even if I truly lacked the power to achieve it, would I not send you through the immortal gate?"

"Do you really not trust me?"

"If I had not used my nine lifetimes of cultivation to fill the heavens and earth, leaving me with less than one ten-thousandth of my power, how could you and others have even injured me?"

"Those eight fools dared to join forces with you to attack me, probably because you revealed my weakened state to them."

"But you would never have thought that by using my nine lifetimes of cultivation to fill the heavens and earth, I gained partial control over the world, allowing me to anchor my soul in the world, deceiving you and even transcending the heavenly path to glimpse the essence of the great way!"

The young man shook his head, all emotions dissipating.

A great emperor's normal lifespan is ten thousand years, but he lived for nearly ninety thousand years. It was not because he transcended the laws of the world, but because each time his lifespan was about to end, he would live out a new life from his old body. Each time he re-cultivated to the great emperor realm, he would use his cultivation to fill the heavens and earth to make the immortal gate permanent, leading to a severe decline in his power. Despite this, suppressing the hundred-refined sages was still effortless, and he remained invincible in the world.

Who would have thought he would be betrayed by his beloved in his ninth life?

But after living for ninety thousand years, even such a betrayal could only make him feel a slight sense of regret.

I can teach you supreme powers, and I can also take them away.

Since you betrayed me, when we meet again in the immortal realm, I will return a sword to you, settling our debts— even if you have been in the immortal realm for a million years, with cultivation far surpassing my former self, once I enter the immortal realm, I can make ten thousand immortals bow down!

Because I am the first emperor of ten thousand ancient years!

"The original owner of this body is called Ye Yan. Ha ha, his name also contains the character 'Yan.' Is this the will of heaven? Well, then in this life, I will be called Ye Yan!"

Ye Yan closed his eyes slightly, and the memories of the original owner surged like a tide, merging with his soul.

Compared to his ninety thousand years of experience, the original owner's mere nineteen years of memories were but a drop in the ocean.

The original owner was a member of the Ye family, a prominent family in Shi County. His father, Ye Changzhi, was a marginal member of the Ye family. Although he practiced martial arts from a young age, he had average talent and no outstanding qualities. He married an ordinary woman, Chang Yue, who was the original owner's mother. The two respected each other and had only one son.

Three years ago, the original owner was chosen by the top family in Su Cheng, the Chu family, to become a son-in-law.

Although the Ye family could also be considered a prominent family, it was not on the same level as the Chu family. Why did the Chu family choose the original owner? Moreover, his wife, Chu Yanran, was known as the most beautiful woman in Su Cheng, and the two seemed mismatched.

But faced with the olive branch from the Chu family, how could the Ye family refuse? Climbing the tree of the Chu family would allow them to soar to new heights, crushing their old rival, the Mao family, and becoming the only prominent family in Shi County.

Thus, they disregarded the original owner's wishes and forcibly sent him to the Chu family.

Only then did the original owner and the Ye family learn why this marriage was arranged.

It turned out that Chu Yanran was plagued by misfortune, encountering accidents every day, and nearly dying several times. A wise man revealed that they needed to find a person with a strong destiny to marry Chu Yanran and ward off the misfortune.

After three years, Chu Yanran would turn her misfortune into fortune, with a bright future ahead!

The wise man calculated, and the original owner stood out.

Given these circumstances, how could the Chu family take the original owner seriously?

During the three years in the Chu family, the original owner naturally suffered great humiliation. No one looked up to him, and he had hoped that Chu Yanran would develop feelings for him over time, but this woman had high standards and never intended to spend her life with him, treating him merely as a tool.

Especially after the three-year period ended, she indeed turned her misfortune into fortune, awakening a high-level manifestation, "Frost Spirit," of the third rank, causing a great stir. Many sects sent people to recruit her, making her ambitious and unwilling to be confined to Su Cheng, let alone be held back by the original owner.

Thus, she sent him a divorce letter and expelled him from the family.

Being a son-in-law in a prominent family was already humiliating enough, but now being expelled made it an even greater laughingstock. When the news spread throughout Shi County, who did not feel ashamed of the original owner?

And the Ye family?

When they initially sent the original owner to the Chu family, they hoped to climb the social ladder. However, the Chu family ignored them, and they could not use the Chu family's influence to suppress the Mao family. Their plans fell through, and they resented the original owner for becoming a laughingstock, never considering that they had forced him to go to the Chu family.

How did the original owner die?

The original owner had a childhood friend named Chen Ji. A few days ago, the original owner went to visit this old friend, only to find an isolated grave.

Six months earlier, Chen Ji had tried to stop Mao Xinyi, the young master of the Mao family, from publicly humiliating a woman and was beaten to death by Mao Xinyi.

Upon learning the truth, the original owner was furious and went to the government office to file a complaint. However, when they learned it involved the Mao family, they refused to accept the case and kicked him out. When he returned home, he was scolded by a high-ranking member of the Ye family, telling him not to meddle in other people's affairs.

Why?

Because the Mao family was now very powerful. The daughter of the Mao family, Mao Weili, was about to be taken as a concubine by the seventh young master of the Wang family in Su Cheng.

The Wang family was a prominent family on par with the Chu family, and even a single hair from the Wang family could crush the Mao family or the Ye family!

Moreover, although she was going to be a concubine, how could that compare to being a son-in-law?

Wasn't the influence of a concubine significant?

Therefore, the Ye family naturally dared not offend the Mao family. Upon learning that the original owner had filed a complaint, they scolded him and told him not to meddle in the matter.

However, the original owner was not willing to give up and went directly to the Mao family to demand an explanation. He was beaten by Mao Xinyi's henchmen and sent back to the Ye family, already critically injured.

The Ye family, already disliking this family disgrace and shame of Shi County, and seeing that the original owner was disobedient, decided to secretly abandon him on a desolate mountain, leaving him to his fate.

The original owner's memories ended here.

How hateful! They should be killed!

Ye Yan suddenly felt a surge of killing intent, cold as frost and hot as lava.

He was startled; how could his emotions fluctuate so easily?

"Indeed, I have taken on a young body, prone to joy and anger, and the original owner has a lingering obsession... I will let it be, expressing anger when appropriate, laughing when appropriate, and killing when necessary."

"Whatever your unfulfilled wishes may be, even if it means ascending to the ninth heaven, I will fulfill them one by one!"

"I will avenge you, honor your parents, and make Chu Yanran regret for the rest of her life."

Rumbling thunder echoed, as if the heavens were responding and witnessing.